Denver, CO

“He Says ‘We Had a Falling Out'” by Cat Dixon

We climbed that tree in my backyard, held hands on the highest branch, before it cracked and threw us to the leaf-littered grass.

The hull of the ship that carried us though the Arctic Circle was torn by a glacier; we spilled out to the sea.

The surge of adrenaline overtook us as we dove from the plane, yet we pulled the parachutes opened as trained; a gust of wind sailed him across the state line.

Occupied with our trajectory, we neglected to properly close the hatch and the shuttle’s door burst open; we floated into the vacuum to join the stars.

Cat Dixon is the author of Eva and Too Heavy to Carry (Stephen F. Austin University Press, 2016, 2014) and The Book of Levinson and Our End Has Brought the Spring (Finishing Line Press, 2017, 2015). She is the Managing Editor of The Backwaters Press. Learn more about her work on her website.